06/20/02 - Football updates.

06/15/02 - Don't forget that the Alabama - Mississippi All-Star Classic in Mobile, Alabama is tonight at 7 p.m. Central Time. It will be televised on the Fox Sports Net channel. If you have one of the small satellite dishes and the Dish Network television package, you can find it on channel 420.

06/07/02 - During this past weekend's MSU football camp, I had the great pleasure of meeting Donald Smith, Sr. and his son Donald Smith, Jr. The Smith's are from Pittsburgh, Pa. Donald, who is a 6-2, 210-lb. junior-to-be linebacker, goes to Schenley High School in Pittsburgh. As a sophomore, he had between 50 and 60 solo tackles. Not only an excellent football player but an excellent student as well, Donald runs a 4.65 forty. According to his dad, Donald has already expressed an interest in MSU due to MSU's success on the football field and the reputation of Coach Sherrill. His dad has first-hand knowledge of Coach Sherrill because he played for him at Pitt.

As for Donald, Sr's feelings about Coach Sherrill, I believe the quote he included in his email to me expresses them very clearly.

"All I have to say about Jackie is he has been one of the most influential people in shaping my life and many others. He has done this by being Honest and Loyal to his players. He has provided wisdom and direction that reached far beyond the field of play. Just to have my son come to his camp and not only meet Coach but be around him is well worth a trip across country."

Look for an interview with the Smith's in the next week or two.

06/06/02
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ As the first weekend of the 2002 Mississippi State Football Camps came to a close this past Sunday, there was an abundance of satisfaction among players, parents and coaches who were on the MSU campus for the two-day session.

"We received a tremendous amount of positive feedback from our campers, their coaches, and their parents," MSU Coordinator of Football Operations Rockey Felker said. "The weekend was very successful."

More than 600 high school student-athletes representing 92 schools in nine different states underwent last weekend's initial offering of State's summer football camps. Reviews by coaches such as Alonzo Stevens of Vicksburg (which had 56 of his players sign up), were very high.

"We come here every year and it's the start of our summer program," Stevens said. "It's going to help us tremendously condition-wise and getting practice at all of our positions. We look forward to this camp every year. The organization is beautiful. We love coming up here because we get quality coaching with all of our kids. We try to pattern ourselves after good college programs and Mississippi State has one of the top-notch programs in the country."

Drills during the weekend are basically split into three groups of players, all of which get an average of 10 hours of work during the camp.

Offensive and defensive linemen split off and undergo what is basically a regimen similar to State's two-a-day drills each fall. Kickers, punters, snappers and holders also have their own group. Skill position players go through the paces of a seven-on-seven tournament, which gives each participating team roughly 8-12 games of action during the weekend. Those games, which are completely pass-oriented, are 25 minutes long.

"You get so many reps in such a short period of time," said David Humphries, head coach at Rome (Ga.) High School. "We probably throw 400-500 balls out here over the course of the weekend and we have to defend that many as well.

"We have the opportunity to go to a lot of different camps and we are always excited about coming to this camp. They really make us feel at home here. It's a great time for the kids. Over the 7-8 years we have come here, it has always really brought us together as a team."

Other benefits that visiting coaches have pointed out about MSU's Football Camp include low cost (just $50 per player prepaid), meals and facilities.

"Everything is well-organized, the meals are great, and the cost you can't beat," said Jim Hill head coach Daryl Jones. "You can't go to another camp anywhere and face the kind of competition we've had here, and your kids have a chance to see the campus and be exposed to these kinds of facilities."

"The facilities are great and the cost factor is fantastic," adds Provine High School head coach Willie Collins. "The kids pay $50, get good meals and a great weekend of work. We've been coming here for the last 4-5 years. Coach (Jackie) Sherrill and everyone always do a great job with this camp. It's just set up great and the atmosphere is great. The kids really enjoy it."

In addition to the coaches, several players attending the camp were very pleased.

"Itıs meant a lot because, in ninth grade, I really didn't know too much about football," said third-year attendee Johnny Daniels, a defensive lineman from Vicksburg. "I have encouraged a lot of young players to come because you can learn a lot more than in most camps."

"There's a lot of great teams here and a lot of great talent," said Baldwyn quarterback Blake Barnes. "Itıs been really good for our team to get to play all of these teams and get a lot of practice in. We keep getting better as we go."

The second of three MSU football camp sessions began this past Sunday with the Jr. Camp (Grades 3-8). Another high school Mini Camp will be held July 25-26. For more information, please contact the MSU football office at 662-325-2534 or visit the MSU Athletic web site at www.mstatetathletics.com.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

06/04/02 - MSU's coaches have called running back Xavier Collier of Starkville HS, quarterback Bradford Foster of Lee Academy in Clarksdale, and linebacker Fernando Matthews of Clarksdale HS during the month of May. Collier has also received calls from Ole Miss, Auburn, LSU and South Carolina.

Although I couldn't make it to the MSU football camp (3 to 8 grades) yesterday due to personal family reasons, I was told by a dad of one of the campers that there are quite a few Memphis kids at the camp.